Archive for the ‘Digitization’ Category

Panasonic’s Toughbook lineup is ubiquitous on the battlefield, dating back to the CF-27 series laptop. The venerable CF-31 and CF-19 laptops are subcomponents of numerous C4ISR systems fielded by DoD and allied forces.

The new CF-33 and CF-20 are the replacements for the CF-31 and CF-19 and feature detachable screens for use as tablets. The screens have proprietary Panasonic technology to allow use with almost any sort of glove to include NBC and cold weather gloves.

The FZ-X1 Tough Tablet is a 5″ Android tablet that’s rated to 30 minutes submersion, 10 foot drops, and operation down to -4F. Both touchscreen and programmable hardware hot-keys allow access to any application. Of particular note is the user replaceable battery, allowing for a long service life. Business card for scale.

Front

Side

Rear. Of note, the camera module can be replaced with a bar code scanner.

The CF-20 and CF-33 are 10.1″ and 12″ laptops with detachable screens. The keyboard base functions as a docking and port base as well as home for additional battery power. The signature front mount carry handle of the Toughbook line has been moved the rear to serve as a stabilizer when the screen is tilted back now that most of the “guts” have been moved into the detachable screen section.

The CF-31 will remain in legacy production for the near-term to fulfill existing requirements but expect it to be phased out after another hardware refresh cycle.

Finally, the Toughpad FZ-M1 7″ Windows tablet is available along with the larger Toughpad FZ-G1 10″ tablet. A matching pair of Android based tablets are also available. The devices are fully ruggedized and targeted at medical and maintenance applications.

A full line of Windows and Linux drivers and APIs are available directly from Panasonic to allow customized application from a single vendor with the complete TDP.

Spotted in the Samsung suite at AFCEA TechNet 2017 were these mounts and cases by Juggernaut for the new ruggedized Samsung lineup.

Wrist Mount

The Wrist Mount can hold most Juggernaut cases and uses a BOA fastener to quickly adjust tension.

Chest Mount

The chest mount uses a hinged polymer PALS panel that allows the device’s viewing angle to be adjusted or fully stowed and closed. Of note is that the hinge uses a blackened stainless steel pin for durability.

Knee/Thigh Mount

Finally, Juggernaut offers a thigh mount case for tablets. Here is the ruggedized case for Galaxy Tab series Android tablet. This would be particularly useful for forward observers, communicators, and during vehicular insertion in low-profile vehicles.

The Juggernaut IMPCT is the lightest weight case they’ve ever built. Designed for use with the S8, S8 Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, it features a simple, snap-in floor plate with optional rubber gasket for those times you need to protect the connectors from ingress.

It is also compatible with Juggernaut’s line of mounts.

Although it was designed for LE and ruggedized industry, a wide variety of others will want them as well with pricing below $50.

The German Bundeswehr has placed an order with Rheinmetall valued at €370 million for enough Future Soldier – Expanded System (IdZ-ES) soldier systems to equip 68 rifle platoons. Called Gladius, the new systems will be delivered beginning in 2018.

IdZ-ES connects dismounted infantrymen into the network, sharing information with another, armored vehicles and higher headquarters. According to Rheinmetall, IdZ-ES has been in service with German troops in Afghanistan since summer 2013.

However, initial systems were procured in 2012. In total, the Bundeswehr has procured three lots, consisting of 90 systems, each of which is designed to equip a ten-man section or squad. The 68 platoon systems are enough to equip over 2,460 soldiers.

In a press release, Rheinmetall describes Gladius:

Meriting special mention is the core and helmet system. The battery-powered core computer – worn on the soldier’s back and thus known as the “electronic backbone” – controls all the devices and sensors carried by the soldier via various interfaces. Its principal functions include power supply management, access control and monitoring, the soldier information system for map and situation display, navigation, reporting, exchange of reconnaissance and target data, processing sensor data (e.g. own position, line of sight), operator interfaces and visualization as well as system configuration.

The soldier can control the Soldier Command System and communication via a manually operated control and display unit known by its German initials as the BAG. All relevant data concerning the current situation, the position of friendly forces (blue force tracking), the mission and system status are displayed either on the BAG or, alternatively, on the OLED helmet display. The modular battle dress uniform can be readily adapted to meet the current environmental and temperature conditions. Other important features include the ballistic body armour (Protection Class 1) with integrated ventilation shirt as well as a modular harness for?carrying ammunition, ordnance, the electronic backbone and additional equipment. The IdZ-ES protective vest comes complete with chest rig and hip belt; with added ballistic inserts, it offers protection up to German Level 4. The section or squad leader and his assistant are both issued with an additional leader module consisting of a portable command computer operated via touchscreen. A rifle-mounted push-to-talk button enables wireless communication even when the operator leader has raised his weapon. Furthermore, small arms can also be fitted with optical and optronic devices of the latest generation.

Rheinmetall also notes that Canada uses a Gladius variant in their developmental Integrated Soldier System Project.

Air Combat Command (ACC) recently selected Battlefield Airmen – Digital Air Strike Suite (BA-DASS) as the near term Digitally Aided Close Air Support (DACAS) software solution for Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) warfighters. Following a formal evaluation and comparison of multiple DACAS systems, ACC concluded that BA-DASS was the best fit for the TACP community. ACC stated, “This software selection is to provide immediate force multiplier capability to TACP warfighters.”

Senior Airman Nathan Dupler, 113th Air Support Operations Squadron, Terre Haute, Ind., conducts a close air support training mission with an F-16 Fighting Falcon, July 29, 2015, at Grayling Air Gunnery Range, Grayling, Mich., during Northern Strike 15. NS 15 is an annual training exercise on CGJMTC that assesses joint air-to-ground capability and involves hundreds of military personnel from 20 different states as well as Canada, Latvia, Poland and Australia. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Scott Thompson/released)

BA-DASS integrates with numerous sensors directly enhancing Battlefield Situational Awareness (SA). BA-DASS improves the performance of TACP, Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTACs), and Guardian Angel (GA) operators during target acquisition and terminal control, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), and personnel recovery operations. With its integrated troubleshooting and DACAS capabilities, BA-DASS reduces potential for errors, enhances the safety and security of friendly forces, increases SA, and ultimately reduces the risks of fratricide. Refer to the BADASS data sheet for a full list of system capabilities.

WASHINGTON (Army News Service) — A novel technology called “Tactical Augmented Reality,” or TAR, is now helping Soldiers precisely locate their positions, as well as the locations of friends and foes, said Richard Nabors.

(Photo Credit: David Vergun)

It even enables them to see in the dark, all with a heads-up display device that looks like night-vision goggles, or NGV, he added. So in essence, TAR replaces NVG, GPS, plus it does much more.

Nabors, an associate for strategic planning at U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, or CERDEC, spoke about TAR at the Pentagon’s Lab Day, Thursday.

Currently, most Soldiers use a hand-held GPS system that approximates their position, he said, but only if their device is geo-registered to their location.

Geo-registration is the alignment of an observed image with a geodetically-calibrated reference image.

TAR does the geo-registration automatically, he said.

Staff Sgt. Ronald Geer, a counterterrorism non-commissioned officer at CERDEC’s Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate, said that with TAR, Soldiers don’t have to look down at their GPS device. In fact, they no longer need a separate GPS device because with TAR, the image is in the eyepiece, which is mounted to the Soldier’s helmet in the same way NVG is mounted.

So what they would see, he said, is the terrain in front of them, overlaid with a map.

TAR is also designed to be used both day and night, he added.

A novel technology called “Tactical Augmented Reality,” or TAR, is now helping Soldiers precisely locate their positions, as well as the locations of friends and foes. The technology enables a tiny, heads-up display attached to the helmet, as modeled by Staff Sgt. Ronald Geer, a counterterrorism non-commissioned officer at CERDEC’s Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate, during Lab Day at the Pentagon, May 18, 2017. (Photo Credit: David Vergun)

Furthermore, Geer pointed out that the eyepiece is connected wirelessly to a tablet the Soldiers wear on their waist and it’s wirelessly connected to a thermal site mounted on their rifle or carbine.

If a Soldier is pointing his or her weapon, the image of the target, plus other details like the distance to target, can be seen through the eyepiece.

The eyepiece even has a split screen, so for example, if the rifle is pointed rearward and the Soldier is looking forward, the image shows both views, he said.

Also, a Soldier behind a wall or other obstacle could lift the rifle over the wall and see through the sites via the heads-up display without exposing his or her head.

Finally, Geer said that TAR’s wireless system allows a Soldier to share his or her images with other members of the squad. The tablet allows Soldiers to input information they need or to share their own information with others in their squad.

TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGH

David Fellowes, an electronics engineer at CERDEC, said that the key technological breakthrough was miniaturizing the image to fit into the tiny one-inch-by-one-inch eyepiece.

(Photo Credit: US Army)

Current commercial technology compresses images into sizes small enough to fit into tablet and cell phone-sized windows, but getting a high-definition image into the very tiny eyepiece was a challenge that could not be met with commercial, off-the-shelf hardware.

Since about 2008, CERDEC, the Army Research Laboratory and industry have been working to make this miniaturization happen, he said.

By about 2010, the image was compressed enough to be shown in black and white, as well as a greenish monochrome version, he said.

Those systems have already been fielded to certain units, he said.

Currently, CERDEC is working on producing more advanced versions that are in full color and have a brightness display that can even be seen in daylight. The current monochrome versions are also bright enough to be seen in daylight.

Fellowes said he’s not sure when those will be manufactured and fielded, but during user testing, Soldiers expressed their deep appreciation of the image sharpness and contrast.

He added that the TARs will provide Soldiers with a much higher level of situational awareness than they currently have and he said he fully expects that the devices will save lives and contribute to mission success

Juggernaut.Case keeps coming up with great designs and the latest additions to the line are BadAss.

In addition to the iPad Mini 3&4 cases at the lower right, you see a Tab S2 9.7 Tablet Case on a 10-series vehicle mount. To the right of the vehicle mount is a inductive charge vehicle mount. Which allows you to dock and charge your device without plugging in a cable. All of this BadAssery is coming soon.

Stealth Cam is always reinventing products to help consumers make the most of every hunt, with the introduction of the Dual Card Reader, DDMCR, the SD card viewing process just became that much easier! The new and improved Dual Card Reader, DDMCR, is now universal and can be used with both IOS and Android devices. With the included adapters, users can view photos or videos without removing the phones’ protective cases.

To view images on your IOS device, simply download the free I-Easy Drive App and go! For first time users, your device will prompt you to download this app when first inserted into your iPhone or iPad. Once downloaded, the app allows the user to instantly turn their smart device into a viewing device, showcasing the photos or videos captured on your game camera(s). For an Android users, it’s simply plug and play or just access your file manager. The days of hauling an SD card all the way back to a home or office computer, then emailing the photo to obtain it on a phone are a thing of the past! Now, simply remove the SD card from the camera while in the woods, plug it into the card reader and view, download, or share the photos directly from your phone or tablet. Quick and convenient! Stealth Cams Dual Card Reader is compact and lightweight, and can fit into even the smallest hunting packs. The Dual Card Reader, DDMCR, has edged out the competition and delivers an experience that simplifies the lives of those using a game camera. Stealth Cam understands that most sportsman are using protective cases on their smart phones that more often than not are a big hassle to remove, thus the addition of the extension/adapters to bypass your smartphones protective case. The best part about this device is it doesn’t break the bank, coming in at $29.99 MSRP.